Common drive member for weed seed mill of combine harvester

ABSTRACT

An agricultural harvester includes a straw hood having a hollow interior space for receiving material other than grain (MOG) from a threshing and separating system of the harvester and chaff from a cleaning system of the harvester. A drive system is provided for powering a straw chopper and a weed seed mill. The drive system includes a single belt positioned outside of the straw hood that is wound at least partially around (i) a straw chopper pulley that powers the straw chopper, (ii) a weed seed mill pulley that powers the weed seed mill, and (iii) a power take off shaft of the harvester that receives power from an engine or other power source of the harvester.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to agricultural harvesters. Morespecifically, the present invention relates to a drive system for a weedseed mill for a combine harvester.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As is described in U.S. Pat. No. 10,314,232 to CNH America LLC (the '232patent), which is incorporated by reference in its entirety and for allpurposes, an agricultural harvester known as a “combine” is historicallytermed such because it combines multiple harvesting functions with asingle harvesting unit, such as picking, threshing, separating andcleaning. The separating system of the combine directs the non-grainmaterial to a residue system. The residue system distributes thenon-grain material through a chopper, a spreader, and/or a windrow chutebefore it is distributed onto the field.

Crop residue that is discharged onto fields often contains lost grainand seeds, including shrunken crop seeds and weed seeds. Most or all ofthe seeds are in the chaff that exits the cleaning system. Many of theseeds are not destroyed and remain viable after exiting the combine.Viable seeds can germinate and sprout in the field, resulting in thespread of undesired weeds and potential crop disease. Weeds that sproutare typically killed by tillage or chemical treatment, however, weedcontrol measures such as these are costly. Moreover, these weed controlmeasures require additional equipment passing over the field, which canincrease soil compaction and adversely impact the condition of thefield.

The '232 patent discloses a weed seed mill positioned for destroying theweed seeds through shearing forces. A weed seed mill may also bereferred to herein or in the art as a seed processor, chaff mill, chaffmill assembly, or chaff processor. The seed mill is configured toreceive crop residue from a cleaning system of the combine and destroyor damage seeds through shearing forces, so that when the seeds exit thecombine, the seeds are no longer viable and able to germinate. The weedseed mill may be powered by a drive system including a shaft mountedpulley that is driven by a belt that is indirectly connected to theengine of the combine (for example). Due to the rearward location of theseed processor in the combine, the shaft mounted pulley is positionedoutside of the straw hood of the combine and either in or near a rearwheel well of the combine. For combines having steerable rear wheels,such positioning of the pulley presents an obstacle because the pulleyor the belt that is mounted to that pulley could interfere with thesteered rear wheels. While it is possible to limit the turning radius ofthe steerable rear wheels, such a modification may be viewed as anundesirable restriction on the maneuverability of the combine.

In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to incorporate a drivesystem for a weed seed mill into the rear end of the combine withoutimpacting performance or maneuverability of the combine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention, an agricultural harvesterincludes a straw hood having a hollow interior space for receivingmaterial other than grain (MOG) from a threshing and separating systemof the harvester and chaff from a cleaning system of the harvester. Adrive system is provided for powering a straw chopper and a weed seedmill. The drive system includes a single belt positioned outside of thestraw hood that is wound at least partially around (i) a straw chopperpulley that powers the straw chopper, (ii) a weed seed mill pulley thatpowers the weed seed mill, and (iii) a power take off shaft of theharvester that receives power from an engine or other power source ofthe harvester.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention,and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and theinvention will be better understood by reference to the followingdescription of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of an agricultural harvester inthe form of a combine illustrating the residue handling system of thepresent invention in a cutout view toward the rear of the harvester;

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of some of the components of theharvester of FIG. 1 showing further details of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side cutaway view of the residue handling system of FIGS. 1and 2 , whereby the residue handling system is shown schematically andvarious features are shown cut-away;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the residue handling system of FIG.3 taken along the lines 4-4; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the residue handling system of FIGS.2-4 showing an arrangement of drive belts.

It is noted that the figures depict the elements in schematic form andare not necessarily to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views. The exemplification set out hereinillustrates an embodiment of the invention, in one form, and suchexemplification is not to be construed as limiting the scope of theinvention in any manner.

Inasmuch as various components and features of harvesters are ofwell-known design, construction, and operation to those skilled in theart, the details of such components and their operations will notgenerally be discussed in significant detail unless considered ofpertinence to the present invention or desirable for purposes of betterunderstanding.

In the drawings, like numerals refer to like items, certain elements andfeatures may be labeled or marked on a representative basis without eachlike element or feature necessarily being individually shown, labeled,or marked, and certain elements are labeled and marked in only some, butnot all, of the drawing figures.

The terms “grain”, “chaff”, “straw”, and “tailings” are used principallythroughout this specification for convenience but it is to be understoodthat these terms are not intended to be limiting. Thus “grain” refers tothat part of the crop material that is threshed and separated from thediscardable part of the crop material, which is referred to as chaff andincludes straw, seeds, and other non-grain crop material.

Also the terms “forward”, “rearward”, “left” and “right”, when used inconnection with the agricultural harvester and/or components thereof areusually determined with reference to the direction of forward operativetravel of the harvester, but again, they should not be construed aslimiting. The terms “longitudinal” and “transverse” are determined withreference to the fore-and-aft direction of the agricultural harvesterand are equally not to be construed as limiting. The terms “upstream”and “downstream” are determined with reference to the crop flow streamarrows shown in FIG. 3 .

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1 , thereis shown an agricultural harvester in the form of a combine 10, whichgenerally includes a chassis 12, ground engaging wheels 14 and 16, aheader 18, a feeder housing 20, an operator cab 22, a threshing andseparating system 24, a cleaning system 26, a grain tank 28, and anunloading conveyance 30. Motive force is selectively applied to thefront wheels 14 through a power plant in the form of a diesel engine 32and a transmission (not shown). Both the front and rear wheels 14 and 16may be steerable.

The header 18 is mounted to the front of the combine 10 and includes acutter bar 34 for severing crops from a field during forward motion ofcombine 10. A rotatable reel 36 feeds the crop into the header 18, and adouble auger 38 feeds the severed crop laterally inwardly from each sidetoward the feeder housing 20. The feeder housing 20 conveys the cut cropto threshing and the separating system 24.

The threshing and separating system 24 is of the axial-flow type, andgenerally includes a rotor 40 at least partially enclosed by androtatable within a corresponding perforated concave 42. The cut cropsare threshed and separated by the rotation of the rotor 40 within theconcave 42, and larger elements, such as stalks, leaves and the like aredischarged from the rear of the combine 10. Smaller elements of cropmaterial including grain and non-grain crop material, includingparticles lighter than grain, such as chaff, dust and straw, aredischarged through perforations of the concave 42.

Grain that has been separated by the threshing and separating assembly24 falls onto a grain pan 44 and is conveyed toward the cleaning system26. The cleaning system 26 may include an optional pre-cleaning sieve46, an upper sieve 48 (also known as a chaffer sieve), a lower sieve 50(also known as a cleaning sieve), and a cleaning fan 52. Grain on thesieves 46, 48 and 50 is subjected to a cleaning action by the fan 52,which provides an airflow through the sieves, to remove chaff and otherimpurities such as dust from the grain by making this material airbornefor discharge from the straw hood 54 of the combine 10. The grain pan 44and the pre-cleaning sieve 46 oscillate in a fore-to-aft manner totransport the grain and finer non-grain crop material to the uppersurface of the upper sieve 48. The upper sieve 48 and the lower sieve 50are vertically arranged relative to each other, and likewise oscillatein a fore-to-aft manner to spread the grain across sieves 48, 50, whilepermitting the passage of cleaned grain by gravity through the openingsof sieves 48, 50.

Clean grain falls to a clean grain auger 56 positioned crosswise belowand in front of the lower sieve 50. The clean grain auger 56 receivesclean grain from each sieve 48, 50 and from bottom pan 58 of thecleaning system 26. The clean grain auger 56 conveys the clean grainlaterally to a generally vertically arranged grain elevator 60 fortransport to the grain tank 28. Tailings from the cleaning system 26fall to a tailings auger trough 62. The tailings are transported viatailings auger 64 and the return auger 66 to the upstream end of thecleaning system 26 for repeated cleaning action. The cross augers 68 atthe bottom of the grain tank 28 convey the clean grain within the graintank 28 to the unloading auger 30 for discharge from the combine 10.

Although a rotary combine has been described thus far, it should beunderstood that the details presented herein are not limited to rotarycombine and may be applicable to other machines, such as conventionalcombines and cross harvester combines.

A residue handling system 70 is integrated in the rear of harvester 10.Residue handling system 70 generally comprises a straw hood 54, adischarge beater 75, seed mills 77, a chopper 72, and horizontallyoriented spreaders 74 that are all at least partially positioned withinstraw hood 54.

Referring now to the individual components of residue handling system70, straw hood 54 includes opposing side walls 55 that are connected toa top wall 71. The walls 55 and 71 together define an interior space,which is referred to herein as a passageway 69 for straw and chaff.

A windrow mode selection door 76 is mounted to the top wall 71 of strawhood 54 at a location above the chopper 72. Door 76 pivots between twopositions, namely, a deployed (i.e., extended) position and a retractedposition shown in FIG. 3 . In the deployed position, the first stream 80of residue (straw), which is discharged from the discharge beater 75, isdiverted over top of the chopper 72, through the windrow outlet of themachine 10 and onto a hood or chute (see FIG. 1 ) that guides theresidue to form a windrow behind the machine 10. In the retractedposition of door 76 shown in FIG. 3 , the door 76 prevents the firststream 80 of residue from passing through the windrow outlet. And, thefirst stream 80 is directed to the residue chopper 72.

Discharge beater 75 is configured to deliver the stream 80 of strawmaterial into the upper end of passageway 69 towards chopper 72. Thecleaning system 26, which includes sieve 48, is configured to deliver astream 78 of chaff material along the lower end of passageway 69. Stream78 of chaff is designated by the double headed arrow shown in FIG. 3 .Sieve 48 is mounted to a reciprocating cleaning shoe 49. Chopper 72 isconfigured to rotate and chop the straw material and deliver it tospreader 74. Chopper 72 is partially surrounded by a chopper housing 57that comprises an interior facing wall 57 a (or shroud) and an exteriorfacing wall 57 b. The spreader 74 discharges the non-grain crop materialacross the harvested width behind harvester 10. Further details ofdischarge beater 75, chopper 72 and spreader 74 are provided in the '232patent.

It is noted that chopper 72 may be omitted, if so desired. For example,if beater 75 has two speed settings (e.g., high and low), there may notbe a need to include a separate chopper 72 because the beater 75 can actas a chopper when it is operated at the high speed setting.

Turning now to FIGS. 3 and 4 , two seed mills 77 are positioned at thebottom side of straw hood 54. Each seed mill 77 receives a portion ofsecond stream 78 of chaff from the cleaning system 26 via passageway 69.Seed mills 77 are powered by a belt 88 (or other device) that ispositioned within the interior of straw hood 54. A cover 98 conceals thebelt 88. It is noted that the cover 98 and belt 88 are shown partiallycut-away in FIG. 3 to reveal further components of the combine. Furtherdetails in connection with seed mills 77 are described in U.S. Pat. No.10,004,176, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

An oscillating pan 93 is mounted to reciprocating cleaning shoe 49 andoscillates therewith. Pan 93 includes a central opening 93 a that isdisposed above the inlet 77 c of mill 77 for directing the chaff stream78 into mill 77.

A seal 96, which may be composed of rubber or metal, for example, ispivotably mounted to the top surface of mill 77 (or another fixed pointon the combine) at a location adjacent inlet 77 c of mill 77. The lowerend of seal 96 is pivotably mounted at pivot point 96 a (e.g., a hinge)and moves between a raised position and a lowered portion. In the raisedposition of seal 96, which is shown in FIG. 3 , seal 96 prevents thepassage of the chaff stream 78 towards spreader 74 via passageway 87. Inthe lowered position of seal 96 (not shown), seal 96 covers the centralopening 93 a of pan 93 to (i) prevent the passage of the chaff stream 78into the mills 77, and (ii) permit the passage of the chaff stream 78into the passageway 87 towards spreader 74.

As best shown in FIG. 4 , seal 96 is divided into two portions, namely,seal portion 96 b and seal portion 96 c that are positioned on opposingsides of cover 98. A rod (not shown) extends along pivot points 96 a andconnects both seal portions 96 b and 96 c together. In use, rotation ofthat rod causes both seal portions 96 b and 96 c to move together.Gaskets (not shown) may be positioned on the left and right sides ofeach seal portion 96 b and 96 c. The gaskets prevent the chaff materialfrom escaping through spaces between the seal portions 96 b/96 c and thecover 98. And, the gaskets also prevent the chaff material from escapingthrough spaces between the seal portions 96 b/96 c and the sides 55 ofthe straw hood 54.

Another seal 59, which may be composed of rubber or metal, for example,is pivotably mounted to chopper housing wall 57 a (or another fixedpoint on the combine). The connected end of seal 59 is pivotably mountedat pivot point 59 a (e.g., a hinge) and moves between a raised positionand a lowered portion. In the raised position of seal 59, which is shownin FIG. 3 , seal 59 registers with seal 96 to prevent the passage of thechaff stream 78 towards spreader 74 via passageway 87. In the loweredposition of seal 59 (not shown), seal 59 is positioned against chopperhousing wall 57 a to permit the passage of the chaff stream 78 towardsspreader 74 via passageway 87 (assuming that seal 96 is also maintainedin the lowered position). Seals 59 and 96 may also be referred to hereinas doors or deflectors.

Turning now to FIG. 5 , that figure shows a drive system that deliverspower from the power take off (PTO) shaft of the combine to the chopper72, mills 77 and other elements of the combine using a belt 115 on theexterior of the straw hood 54. Portions of the drive system are externalof straw hood 54 whereas other portions of the drive system are internalto the straw hood 54. By way of background, conventional combines havingweed seed mills and a chopper typically include three or more belts forpowering those devices from a PTO shaft. The combine described hereinonly uses two belts (i.e., belts 115 and 88) for driving the chopper 72and the mills 77, which is particularly advantageous from theperspective of efficiency, reliability, and cost. Belt 115 is externalto straw hood 54, whereas belt 88 is internal to straw hood 54.

Referring still to the drive system shown in FIG. 5 , a PTO shaft 110 onthe combine is connected to receive power from the engine of thecombine. A pulley 112 is positioned at the end of the shaft 110. Thebelt 115 is wound around the pulley 112. The belt is also wound about apulley 119 that is connected to a shaft of beater 75. Idler pulleys 116and 117 bear on belt 115 to impart tension to the belt 115 and removeany slack in the belt 115. The belt 115 is further wound about a chopperpulley 120 for rotating the pulley 120. A shaft extending from thepulley 120 is connected to the chopper 72 for rotating the chopper 72.The belt 115 is also wound around a jackshaft pulley 122 for rotatingthat pulley 122. A shaft 92 extends from pulley 122, and the shaft 92 isindirectly connected to the seed mills 77, as will be explained below.It is noted that the position of the above mentioned pulleys as well asthe trajectory of belt 115 may vary from that which is shown anddescribed. It is also noted that the belt 115 does not have to be wouldabout pulley 119 and/or pulley 120 depending upon the configuration ofthe combine. It is further noted that the position of the idler pulleys116 and 117 can vary, and the number of idler pulleys can vary.

FIGS. 3 and 4 depict the internal portion 100 of the drive system (i.e.,at least partially internal to straw hood 54) that is configured fortransferring power from the pulley 122 to the rotor of each seed mill77. At the outset, it should be understood that the internal drivesystem 100 can be modified depending upon the location and style of seedmills 77. And, seed mills 77 are not limited to that which is shown anddescribed herein.

Internal drive system 100 generally includes shafts 84 a, 84 b and 92,pulleys 86 and 90, gears 82 and belt 88. It is noted at the outset,however, that the internal drive system 100 is not limited to a beltdrive including belt 88. For example, drive mechanism 100 may comprise agearbox or a power take off shaft for transmitting power between shaft92 and seed mills 77. And, if drive mechanism 100 includes such agearbox or power take off shaft, then the portions of the gearbox orpower take off shaft that are positioned within straw hood 54 would beconcealed by cover 98.

Turning now to the individual components of internal drive system 100,one gear (referred to as an input member) of a bevel gear set 82 isconnected to a rotor 73 of one of the seed mills 77. The other gear ofthe bevel gear set 82 is connected to one of the shafts 84 a and 84 b.Shafts 84 a and 84 b are releasably connected together by a releasablecoupling 85. A pulley 86 is non-rotatably mounted to the shaft 84. Abelt 88 is wound around the pulley 86 and a pulley 90. Belt 88 may beaccessed (e.g., replaced, adjusted, etc.) by sliding coupling 85 alongshaft 84 a in a direction away from the belt 88. Alternatively, shaft 84a may be a collapsible shaft, as is known in the art, that can bedisconnected from pulley 86. A bearing 89 supports pulley 86 and shaft84 b. Bearing 89 is especially useful for supporting shaft 84 b whenshaft 84 a is disconnected from shaft 84 b.

It is noted that bevel gear set 82 may be omitted if mills 77 areoriented vertically as opposed to the horizontal arrangement shown inFIG. 4 .

Pulley 90 is non-rotatably connected to one end of a jackshaft 92 thatextends through an opening formed in side wall 55 of the straw hood 54.Pulley 122 is non-rotatably connected to the opposite end of jackshaft92 and is positioned outside of the straw hood 54. Belt 115 is woundaround pulley 122, as was described above.

In operation, power from the engine (or other power source) istransferred to PTO shaft 110, which is transferred to pulley 122 viabelt 115, which is transferred to pulley 90 via shaft 92, which istransferred to belt 88, which is transferred to pulley 86, which istransferred to both bevel gears 92 via shafts 84 a and 84 b, which istransferred to a rotor 73 positioned within each seed mill 77. Bevelgears 82 convert rotation along one axis to rotation along an orthogonalaxis, as is known in the art. Power from PTO shaft 110 is alsotransferred to pulley 120 via belt 115, which is transferred to chopper72. And, power from PTO shaft 110 is also transferred to pulley 119 viabelt 115, which is transferred to beater 75. As noted above, pulley 120or pulley 119 may be omitted depending upon the configuration of thecombine.

Jackshaft 92, pulley 90 and at least a portion of belt 88 are positionedwithin passageway 69. Pulley 90 and belt 88 are enclosed by a cover 98to either prevent or limit the amount of straw embedding on thoseelements. The leading and trailing ends 99 of cover 98 may be pointededges to limit straw material from embedding on the surfaces of thecover 98. According to this example, cover 98 does not extend throughupper wall 71. Rotatable shaft 92 is enclosed in a protective hollowtube 95 to prevent straw from contacting shaft 92. Cover 98, pulley 90,jackshaft 92 and tube 95 are positioned downstream of discharge beater75 and upstream of chopper 72 in the direction of crop flow.

Cover 98 bifurcates chaff passageway 83 into two separate and narrowedpassageways, as shown in FIG. 4 . Each passageway 83 leads to an inletof seed mill 77. Rotor 73 is positioned within the hollow interior ofmill 77, and is surrounded by a concave or stator, as is known in theart and described in the '232 patent. Destroyed seeds are outputted fromseed mill 77 via an outlet port 91.

By positioning the drive mechanism 100 at least partially in passageway69, it is not necessary to position any mechanisms for powering the seedmills 77 within the rear wheel wells of the combine 10 at a locationthat would interfere with the turning radius of the rear wheels. It isnoted that pulley 122 is positioned well above the rear wheels.

Although not shown, cover 98, pulley 90, and belt 88 do not have to bepositioned in the center of the straw hood 54, as viewed in FIG. 4 .Those components may be positioned to one side of the straw hood 54,such as against the sidewall 55. If such a modification were made, therotors 73 could be connected in series (as opposed to the parallelconnection shown in FIG. 4 ).

It should be understood that the particular details of the seed mills 77and chopper 72 may vary from that which is shown and described.

While this invention has been described with respect to at least oneembodiment, the present invention can be further modified within thespirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is thereforeintended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the inventionusing its general principles. Further, this application is intended tocover such departures from the present disclosure as come within knownor customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains andwhich fall within the limits of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An agricultural harvester comprising: a strawhood having a hollow interior space for receiving material other thangrain (MOG) from a threshing and separating system of the harvester andchaff from a cleaning system of the harvester; and a drive system forpowering a straw chopper and a weed seed mill, wherein the drive systemcomprises a single belt that is positioned outside of the straw hood andis wound at least partially around (i) a straw chopper pulley thatpowers the straw chopper, (ii) a weed seed mill pulley that powers theweed seed mill, and (iii) a power take off shaft of the harvester thatreceives power from an engine or other power source of the harvester. 2.The agricultural harvester of claim 1 further comprising the strawchopper that is positioned within the straw hood.
 3. The agriculturalharvester of claim 2, wherein the straw chopper is positioned above aspreader of the harvester for directing chopped straw to the spreader.4. The agricultural harvester of claim 2, wherein the straw chopper is abeater that is configured to be operated at two different speeds,wherein one of the speeds of the beater is capable of chopping straw. 5.The agricultural harvester of claim 1 further comprising the weed seedmill and a jackshaft that is connected for transferring motion betweenthe weed seed mill pulley and the weed seed mill, wherein the jackshaftextends into the hollow interior space of the straw hood.
 6. Theagricultural harvester of claim 5, wherein the jackshaft is connected toan internal drive system that drives the weed seed mill, wherein theinternal drive system comprises a second belt, a gear box or a powertake off shaft.
 7. The agricultural harvester of claim 6, wherein theinternal drive system comprises the second belt, and the second belt ispositioned within the hollow interior space and is concealed andsurrounded by a cover to either limit or prevent MOG and chaff fromembedding on surfaces of the second belt.
 8. The agricultural harvesterof claim 1, wherein the drive system comprises two pulleys that areinterconnected by a second belt, and wherein a first pulley of the twopulleys and the second belt are at least partially positioned within thehollow interior space, and wherein the first pulley is configured to beindirectly connected to an engine or other power source of the harvesterand a second pulley of the two pulleys is configured to be eitherdirectly or indirectly connected to a rotor of the seed mill.
 9. Theagricultural harvester of claim 1, wherein no more than two belts areprovided for transferring power from the power take off shaft to theweed seed mill.
 10. The agricultural harvester of claim 1 furthercomprising idler pulleys that bear on the belt for imparting tension tothe belt.
 11. The agricultural harvester of claim 1, wherein the belt isat least partially positioned within a wheel well of the harvester. 12.The agricultural harvester of claim 1, wherein the single belt comprisesno more than one belt positioned outside of the straw hood.
 13. Theagricultural harvester of claim 1, wherein the straw hood comprises atop wall and side walls, wherein the top and side walls together definethe hollow interior space, and wherein the straw chopper pulley and theweed seed mill pulley are mounted to one of the side walls.
 14. Theagricultural harvester of claim 1, wherein the weed seed mill comprisesa rotor and stator, and the rotor is configured to rotate with respectto the stator for damaging weed seeds passing between the rotor andstator.
 15. The agricultural harvester of claim 1 further comprising twoweed seed mills that are each connected to receive power from the weedseed mill pulley.